Auto-refuelling starts at Ctg airport / [Sylhet by March 2014]
Published : Thursday, 24 October 2013

Our Correspondent

CHITTAGONG, October 23: Auto-refueling facility for large aircraft has been launched at the Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport today through introduction of hydrant system.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan formally inaugurated the long-awaited hydrant system with a view to elevating the airport to the international level.

The minister said the airport currently has two boarding bridges for auto-refueling, and two more bridges will be built soon to provide better service to the international airlines.

"Flights from the Shah Amanat International Airport to international destinations will gradually increase. Image of the airport will also increase, as major airlines will start using it," he added.

Senior officials of the state-owned Padma Oil Company, the implementing agency of the aviation refueling facility, said introduction of the hydrant system is a giant leap for the airport. Auto-refueling facility has undoubtedly taken it to the level of other international airports across the world.

Construction of the aviation facility started in mid-June this year at a cost of Tk 130 million, funded by the Padma Oil. The company is solely responsible for supplying jet fuel to aircrafts at airports throughout the country.

Padma Oil deputy general manager (aviation) Enayet Kabir Chowdhury said the project was undertaken to respond to the increased demand from airlines.

It is their second auto-refueling station after Dhaka Airport. The third station is being constructed at Sylhet International Airport, and is expected to be opened by March 2014.

"The pressure of this hydrant refueling pipeline is so high that it will reduce the refueling time of a large aircraft to one-third of the previous time."

The traditional refueling system will also be in operation side by side with the new system for facilitating the local small aircrafts.

Following introduction of the auto-refueling system many international airlines will start using the airport, which will enhance the government's revenue collection, he added.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAAB) is
all set to reopen the renovated
Iswardi Airport that lay shut for 17
years.
CAAB Superintendent Engineer
Shahidul Afroz told bdnews24.com
that operations would begin from the
first week of November.
“We have done the necessary
renovation for domestic flights to
operate. We hope to open it from the
first week of next month.”
Primarily, private carrier United
Airways will have flights from the
airport immediately on its reopening.
“We have talked to the United
management. We have asked them
to get ready.”
The private airline’s Assistant General
Manager (Marketing) Kamrul Islam
said, “CAAB told us to schedule flights
from Oct 30. But we have told them it
won’t be possible until Nov 2.”
“We are making preparations for the
flights. We have plans to operate
three flights on the Dhaka-Iswardi
route once a week. We are going to
use Dash-8 aircraft, having a capacity
to carry 37 passengers.”
Kamrul said only small aircraft could
use the airport.
CAAB’s Shahidul said the runway,
apron and the terminal building had
been renovated.
Navigation and communication
equipment have also been set up at
the control tower.
The Iswardi Airport was founded in
1960 on 412 acres of land. It was
damaged during the 1971 Liberation
War. Bangladesh Biman used it until
1996. Since then no flights has taken
off from the airport.

The construction firm appointed by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to build three fuel storage tanks at Shahjalal International Airport is yet to complete half of the project despite the deadline being just a couple of months away.

The government took up the project worth Tk 10.86 crore in July 2011 to enhance the main airport’s fuel storage capacity to international standards. It was scheduled for completion in December 2012, but seeing the slow progress, the deadline was extended to December this year. As things stand, that too looks unlikely to be met.

The construction firm—a joint venture between S&H and Next Generation Graphics Limited (NGGL)—has so far completed less than 50 percent of the work, according to Abu Bakar Chowdhury, the project’s supervisor.
Until July 15, the firm had finished only 15 percent of the work, which prompted the BPC to force it to design a definitive work plan. The project was supposed to be complete by August 31 under the plan, but the firm managed only 18-19 percent of the work in that timeframe, Chowdhury said.

The delay in implementation compelled the BPC to consider serving notice on the construction firm, but it ultimately decided not to as the firm sped up its work.

BPC Chairman Eunusur Rahman said: “I wonder how such a company got the job.” Rahman was not in office when the firm was awarded the contract.

Kayum Khan Razu, assistant manager of administration at NGGL, however, asserted that 50 percent of the work has already been done and the remaining 50 percent would be concluded before the December deadline expires.

All equipment have already been imported and are waiting to be released from the Chittagong port, he said.

Asked why their pace of work was slow, he blamed it on the monsoon as “the majority of the work involved piling and it took time to check whether the piling had the capacity to take the load”.

Shahjalal International Airport has just one storage tank of a capacity of 2,700 tonnes, deemed to be insufficient for an airport of its stature. A prolonged strike by river transport workers or countrywide shutdown leaves the airport in danger of running out of fuel.

“With the political situation getting worse, we always remain in apprehension that any non-stop strike or blockade might hamper the fuel supply, and thus obstruct the operation of aircraft,” said an official of Padma Oil, the aviation fuel supplier.

“All airlines operating from Dhaka more or less refill their aircraft here. If the reserves of aviation fuel are not sufficient, the airlines may be exposed to hazards,” the country manager of a foreign carrier said, preferring not to be named.

Under the project, three fuel storage tanks, each having 2,500 tonnes of fuel storage capacity, will be constructed.

The construction firm appointed by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to build three fuel storage tanks at Shahjalal International Airport is yet to complete half of the project despite the deadline being just a couple of months away.

Two different issues, I believe. DAC already has a hydrant based fuel delivery system. This project, which is behind schedule, is about expansion of fuel storage (tanks).

Yep. different issues as well as different stage of development, DAC is expanding capacity, CGP's work is to enable faster delivery of fuel, and ZYL is yet to get the re-fuelling facility. So one can hardly say DAC is falling behind.

It addresses both, doesn't it? If indeed traffic has increased, MH is responding with more frequency and seats availability, while at the same time pitting itself against competition that appears to have increased as well. I'm sure MH will receive good response given that MH's reputation is as good as SQ's.

Ishwardi Airport is going to reopen today after 17 years, and a local private carrier, United Airways, is all set to start flying on Dhaka-Ishwardi route.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh has recently taken an initiative to reopen the airport to expand operations on domestic routes.
The airport will play a vital role in business activities, as Ishwardi EPZ, Bangladesh Sugarcane Institute, Rooppur Nuke Plant and many other important institutions are located in Ishwardi, said Shamsur Rahman Sherif, a lawmaker from Pabna-4 constituency.
The airport was set up on 412 acres of land in 1960 and was destroyed during the Liberation War in 1971.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines several times resumed operations of flights through the airport, which was finally abandoned on November 3 of 1996, our Pabna correspondent reports.
United Airways will initially operate two weekly flights on Saturdays and Mondays with a 37-seater Dash 100 aircraft.
The one way promotional fare on the route will be Tk 4,000, including all taxes, said Kamrul Islam, assistant general manager for marketing support and public relations of the airline.
We are launching the flights to increase domestic connectivity and utilise the unused airport.
United Airways, Bangladeshs first ever public limited company in the aviation sector, is now operating flights to all major domestic routes from Dhaka to Chittagong, Coxs Bazar, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Jessore, Syedpur and Barisal.